In recent days, it has been confirmed that AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation have come to an end.
The shows aired weekly on YouTube and featured several up-and-coming stars and independent wrestlers looking to make a name for themselves. On these shows, the likes of Action Andretti and Skye Blue took their first steps in AEW.
However, with the impending launch of Collision, the shows have been wound down.
Speaking on his podcast, The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the tag team legend discussed how Tony Khan likes to produce television before focusing on the loss of the shows.
“I had heard at one point they were gonna tape two weeks’ worth of Elevation and two weeks’ worth of ROH, and then back and forth, but that’s pretty demanding, especially if you have to tape before and after. TK loves to fill up his wrestling programs with a lot of matches and a lot of content. So, hats off to him. That’s what he wants to see. That’s how he likes it, and he’s the guy that is paying the bills. So, it works.”
Hardy explained that Dark and Dark: Elevation provided the perfect platform for wrestlers to try new things. He pointed to his own feud with Ethan Page which recently came to a head in the cinematic Firm Deletion on Rampage.
“I feel like both Dark and Elevation, I feel like it was a great testing ground,” Hardy said. “Especially if someone wanted to try something new, if you had someone that wanted to experiment with some sort of angle, or if you had someone who had started an angle and for them to be able to supplement it on those shows.
For example, in the case of myself and Ethan Page, there were a lot of amazing things that we did on those shows, which I would imagine would be in the package that aired on Wednesday on Dynamite. It was supposed to be kind of a story of the whole program and everything coming together. So, it is a little bittersweet because I think it’s good too to have guys that might not get big wins in matches on TV to be able to give them wins and spotlight them on those programs as well.”
Update On Future Of AEW Rampage
With AEW’s schedule about to undergo a shake-up, there has been a great deal of speculation around the future of Rampage. It has now been reported that while the show is seemingly here to stay, it will pick up the role of Dark and Dark: Elevation in giving a platform to young talent.
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